Change of Weather

We just arrived in Los Altos after spending a week in Utah! It was our first taste of winter for the year and we spent hours trying to dig out our winter clothes so we didn't freeze for the week. We originally went to ski, but ended up spending much more time with family and friends because Christian's knee started acting up. It's been bothering him since last season when he followed Doug off some cliff (despite having knee surgery only a few months prior). We stayed with the Eastons for the first few days and had an absolute blast playing with the kids, staying up late talking to Jeff and Camille, and of course eating Camille's amazing home cooked meals is always a perk! We then headed up to Park City for a little relaxing and skiing for the rest of the week.

For Lauren's birthday we gave her a kit that had a oyster with a pearl inside. You had to open it up to get the "treasure". the kids kept asking how much it cost and we kept telling them nothing was too expensive for Lauren. At the U of Utah gymnastics meet. Christian almost got thrown out for taking the picture...no flash photography allowed.

Big decisions at the Dollar Store...Extra or Bubblelicious. We babysat one evening and after the twins went to bed high roller Uncle Christian took the older kids to pick out a treat at the $ Store. Christian came back wondering why I'm not that easy to please!

i heart n.y.c.

We just returned from a whirlwind trip to NYC. We flew out for a diamond training for work and then stayed a couple extra days with my good friend & old roommate Rachael. We had an absolute blast and the weather was amazing. I think we saw more shows and more of the city over the past 4 days than I ever did in a month while actually living here. Here's the breakdown of the last few days...

10,000 Diamonds
60 Degrees in NYC

5 Slices of Pizza

3 Broadway Shows (Rock of Ages, Hair & Fela)

2 Old roommates
1 Big Apple

Our training group (Geoffrey, Megan, & Mike the trainer) at Rockefeller Center on our way to...

The Top of the Rock above the NBC studios.

Grading a couple diamonds.

Just a handful of 3 carat tanzanites.
Rachael (one of my best friends since 5th grade) and her boyfriend Andrew.

Tune In

Christian and I are sitting in the second row at tonight's show...it's gonna be a hit.

Oh the places you'll go...

2 years ago today we tied the knot and had no idea what kind of adventure we were about to embark on. Our plans to "put in our time" at Ernst & Young and Marcus & Millichap quickly went out the window. Instead we moved to St. Maarten & have since visited 35 different countries (including 29 islands) while on cruise ships! I can't wait to see what the next 2 years has in store!! Happy Anniversary Christian!!

Surf's Up

Since I've known Christian there are only 2 things that I've seen him get really excited about--Spear Fishing and Surfing. We are now back in surfing land. Unfortunately, this also means we've (Christian by choice, myself by default) been waking up several hours earlier on vacation than we ever did while working because "the waves are calling". Since all of his gear is in Los Altos Christian told me he just needed to get a couple things so he would be all set up to surf in LA. He has been scouring craigslist and so far these "essentials" have included:

-2 surfboards (1 long & 1 short)

-wet suit

-surf racks for the car

-surf racks for the bike (this has been used once, the day he put the racks on)

When I told him it seemed like a bit much he said it's way less than I spend on Diet Coke for the year. Whatever.

Room with a View

My mom is working in Irvine this week so we traded our timeshare for a place closer to her office...not that you need an excuse to spend a week in Newport Beach. Jenna, one of my best friends since 6th grade, came up from San Diego to hang out for the weekend. Christian (Mr. Anti Southern CA) even admitted that he could move here...I should've got it on tape...baby steps:)

Hot tube with ocean views...a little slice of heaven!
Sunday afternoon walk on the beach! "Buddy Shot"...reminiscing on the standard pose from high school tennis!

My mom's corner office

Clipper Nation

Basketball Fan: No
Luxury suite, good food, friends and a basketball game on in the background: Yes

Last night my mom got us all suite tickets to the Clipper game through her firm. Christian's friend Perry from Marcus & Millichap also joined us. They confiscated our camera at the door because it violated the "no lenses longer than 3 1/2in." policy. Apparently iphones aren't exactly equal substitutes for SLRs...yet.

Next Assignment...

We just got off the ship in San Diego and we are visiting my family in LA. In May (yes, after 3 months vacation) we are joining the Holland America Zaandam in ALASKA!!! We couldn't be more excited about the ship and location...it is exactly what we requested! Now the only challenge will be finding some cold weather clothes since we've been in the Caribbean for the last two winters.

OMG

Christian and I were running errands yesterday when we stumbled upon this little treasure opening this week. I think Manhattan Beach real estate just went up 50%. We'll be there opening day to show our support!

Acapulco Cliff Divers

We finally saw the world famous cliff divers in Acapulco. They jump from off 133ft cliffs into a narrow water passage.

Waiting for the divers to start at Hotel Mirador.

Lookout point in Acapulco.

Dinner is served. If you don't want chicken...there is always this option:

Visitors!

We just finished our last Panama Canal cruise on the Maasdam and Grandpa & Grandma Whiting came to cruise with us. Here's a few highlights from the cruise. The days basically revolved around food, food and more food!

A turkey for a turkey:)
Baked Alaska with Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia ice cream!!

Eating in the fancy Pinnacle Grill steakhouse. Since we are "officers" the meal is now compliments of Holland America!

Christian & Grandpa showing off their new Movados!

Grandpa bought us matching diamond studs!!

The grand finale dinner!

Tarzan Style

In Costa Rica Ruth and I went on a canopy tour in the rain forest while the boys went fishing! For the canopy tour we started by taking an aerial tram in a gondola to the top of the mountain and then traversed down the canopy on zip lines…amazing!
The gondola ride to the top of the canopy!

Ruth getting ready to take off down the 1000 foot line.

The fishing ended up being more about the boat ride. They saw lots of fish, but didn’t actually catch any.

Some dolphins swimming by the boat. A crocodile we saw on our way back.